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Five Earths - Timeline (2014 April)
This is the timeline of the Five Earths, All in a Row setting, April 2014. (1942 on Earth-2, 1880 on Earth-3, 1557 on Earth-4, and 516 CE/1269 AUC on Earth-5) <-2014 March; 2014 May-> April 2 In Inp-Germany, Heinkel Raumschiffwerke's HSJ-1 Gribbon (see April 19, 2013) reaches orbit for the first time. The vehicle is generally shown to be safer than more rushed designs, and is predicted to be somewhat less troublesome to produce in large numbers, once the factory is tooled up. April 4 In Clp-Transylvania, outside Hermannstadt (modern Sibiu), Conrad Haas successfully makes an orbital rocket launch just before sunset. The payload is a set of alchemical long-burning flares, bright enough to be slightly visible even during the day, in each colour of the Transylvanian flag (blue, red, and yellow). The flares last for three-and-a-quarter to three-an-a-half orbits, first the blue flare burning out, then the yellow, and finally the red. Though the launch is not noticed by the other Earths, both Earth 1 and Earth 3 notice the flares. April 5 The Scandanavian Federation vessels launched on Jan. 7 arrive over Dsp-Earth. They are escorted to Stephenville Air Base, Newfoundland and Labradour, by elements of the RAF, RCAF, USRS, and the Enterprise constellation. HMS Hood finishes refit (required by the damage she took at the Battle of the Denmark Strait), leaves Dsp-Jarrow as an atomic battlecruiser. In Stp-UK, the Official Secrets Act 1880 (formally 'An Act to prevent the Disclosure of Official Documents and Information') is granted Royal Assent. The Act is based on similar Acts in Dsp-UK and Inp-UK. April 7 On Earth-1 General Dynamics Electric Boat's fusion-powered midget sub designs (see Nov. 4, 2013) are approved by the Inp-US Navy. At Inp-New Providence Island, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force takes delivery of two Space Harrier F(S).3s (Starfighter-upgraded Sea Harrier F(A).2s), immediately tripling the size of the RBDF Space Wing, and increasing the number of combat spacecraft from zero to two. In Dsp-USA, the first promotions of USRS officers to Lieutenant General and full General occur, most notably Lt. Generals Patton and Spaatz, and General Billy Mitchell. April 9 The Battle of Midway(2) ends in a surprising Axis victory, with the Soviet and Chinese navies taking control of the islands. Stp-Japan decides never to accept battle at Midway Atoll, as it's clearly bad luck for the Imperial Japanese Navy. In Dsp-Germany, the Kriegsmarine's production budget is shifted to allow greater emphasis on submarines. The Stp-Illinois Aerial Militia is established, becoming the first independent air force on Earth-3. The IAM uses organization, ranks, insignia, and uniforms inspired by the Earth-1 United States Air Force and Earth-2 United States Army Air Forces. Due to the small size of the IAM, NCO ranks currently stop at Master Sergeant, and commissioned ranks do not go higher than Colonel (of which there is only one at this time). Controversially, that Colonel, popular Illinois lawyer and abolitionist Abraham Lincoln, permits several black men to form a squadron, the 4th (Colored) Fighter Squadron, 2nd Aerial Combat Group, 1st Illinois Aerial Militia Wing. In Stp-Washington, D.C., President Phelps sends for his doctor, complaining of an ulcer. April 11 In Clp-England, Earth-4, a large warclank with an armoured howdah (cockpit) is tested. The first pilot, Sir Reginald Forsythe, is said to refer to it as 'a most worthy Battle Mechanism,' though other sources suggest that the name was inspired by radio conversations with a future Earth. In the pacific Ocean of Earth-1, Inp-USN Carrier Strike Group 5, accompanied by battleship USS Missouri, begins a series of freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea. The PRC is, predictably, rather annoyed. In orbit of Earth-2, Enterprise and Atlantis make use of their disintegrator rays on wide beam to clear the debris from the Battle of the Earth(2) Insertion (see Feb. 17, 2014). April 12 In Dsp-UK, the Hawker Sea Fury enters service with the RNFAA. In Dsp-Washington, D.C., Auxiliary Nursing Group, Extraterrestrial Legions (called A.N.G.E.L.s), the nursing auxiliary of the US Rocket Service, is founded. At Area 51, Inp-Nevada, US military personnel begin testing of the DARPA-343 Industries MJOLNIR Mark I Armored Exoskeleton. April 15 In Inp-Germany, four Starfighter-upgraded SP-3 Orions (with further upgrades to sensors) are delivered to the German Space Patrol (Raumpatrouille) as search & rescue vessels. While one of these was reassigned from the Bundesmarine (German Navy), the others were purchased from other nations, including the US. A common joke online is that they will be used one at a time, and keep getting destroyed. April 17 In Inp-Madrid, an article in Los Mundos (formerly El Mundo), Inp-Madrid notes that there are now men who each call themselves 'Don Quixote de La Mancha' erranting around Stp-, Dsp-, and Inp-Spain. Further, the real Don Quixote (not Cervantes's Quixana, but the man Quixana thought he was) is known to be erranting around in Clp-Spain. No such reports are found from Fa-Hispania, though. April 18 On Inp-Cuba, a psyker-lead revolution begins. The apparent leader styles himself (translated from Spanish) 'His Catholic Majesty Ernesto I, Anointed by God King of Cuba and Captain General of the Cuban Forces, Duke of Holguín, Count of Havanna, and Lord Protector of the Caribbean.' He is believed to be a probability manipulator, and possibly an esper or telepath; certainly he has subordinates with such powers. A speech he broadcasts across Cuba and posts online promises a return to security and prosperity, but conspicuously says nothing whatsoever about the United States, or the ownership of Guantánamo Bay. In Stp-Indiana, the first confirmed attack by Dr. Aeolus's Air Pirates occurs, though several earlier attacks are suspected to have been due to their actions - this was the first to have a surviving witness. April 20 To the delight of many children on Earth-1, the Easter Bunny is witnessed in and around numerous homes and churches, though only the children catch a glimpse of him. Ki'i 1, a fusion powered space-probe, is launched towards Haumea. Dsp-USS Enterprise receives new aircraft: Vought F5U STOL fighters, using RADAR and turboprop engines influenced by Earth-1 designs. In Dsp-Washington, D.C., twenty-three year old Harriet Tubman Jones becomes the first African American woman to join the A.N.G.E.L.s. In Earth(2) orbit, the Enterprise Constellation and various Dsp-Allied spacecraft rendezvous, preparing to travel to Earth(1). Breaking orbit, they head to Luna(2). April 22 'Dolores Winters' and Alexei Luthor are recruited into Project M. Unknown to most on the project, they are also part of Project V (which is 'hidden inside' Project M): the development of technology to use in a possible conflict with the Future Earth. The Allied Constellation reaches Luna(2). Diplomatic talks between the Dsp-Allied powers and the Seleneans begin, and will continue throughout the journey, but the Seleneans do not accept embassies from the Dsp-powers at this time. April 24 In Dsp-Ireland, reports are read to key members of the Oireachtas, from Irish spies in Nazi Germany and Nazi-Occupied Eastern Europe. With the arrival of the flight from Ice Warrior Clan Ssrax and the equipping of long-range boosters on the Earth(2) and Luna(2) spacecraft, the Allied Constellation breaks orbit on the way to Earth(1). April 25 The Kotzebue Massacre occurs: in Dsp-Kotzebue, Soviet-occupied Alaska, seven people are killed, and thirty-one injured, in retaliation for a group of high-school students sabotaging a spare-parts bunker. Above Inp-Sweden, Earth-1, the Saab JAS 39G/H Sjärngripen (Star Gryphon) reaches orbit for the first time. April 27 Dsp-Éire, citing the horrors of the Holocaust, declares war on Nazi Germany, though they specifically do not declare war on the other Axis powers at this time. In Dsp-Madrid, Fransisco Franco begins spending time with a tall, beautiful foreign woman. She seems suspicious from a distance, but anyone who meets her finds her quite harmless Category:Timelines Category:Fanwork